Threat Matrix: December 2007

Previous Thread ^

[appalachian_dweller]

Thanks for the ping nwctwx. As usual, excellent job!

An idea I got from another FReeper:

Develop a ‘survival skill set’. Include everything from wilderness/advanced first aid to sewing, boot/shoe repair, tanning, etc. Learn how folks made things before electricity and consumerism came along.

[ExSoldier]

Thanks, Ian. Excellent job, as usual.

Watch your topknot and keep yer eyes upon the skyline. Something's headed our way. I can feel it. More so than the norm, too.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Ditto.

[Oorang]

Southwest flight out of Phoenix returns to gate after passenger tries to get into cockpit
Dec. 1, 2007

A Southwest Airlines jet was forced to return to the gate Friday after a passenger attempted to get into the cockpit. Flight 1028 from Phoenix to Oakland, California was taxing at Sky Harbor Airport when the incident unfolded. According to an airline spokesperson, a man got up from his seat during preflight instructions. He then refused a request by an attendant to sit down. When the man tried to open the locked cockpit door, the pilot returned to the gate.

Phoenix police were waiting and the passenger was taken into custody and later released. Police say the passenger may have been suffering from an anxiety attack.

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/passengerarrested12012007-CR.html

Grenade Found In Mall Parking Lot (Nebraska)
12/1/07

The Omaha Police Department's Bomb Squad removed what authorities describe as a grenade from a parking lot at Westroads Mall Friday night. Police say they responded to a call at 10:34 p.m. regarding an explosive that had been found there.

Mall security directed officers to the device and the Bomb Squad was called in to remove it. The circumstances of the case are under investigation.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/11995001.html

Suspicious package found at Keesler AFB (MS)
Sun, Dec. 02

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE --Keesler Air Force Base officials said they found a suspicious package on base Saturday morning about 10:35 a.m. First responders were called to the scene; the case is still under investigation, base public affairs officers said. Officials refused to release any more details about the case Saturday.

There was a bomb threat on the base in May, on the night before the Special Olympics began there. The event was delayed for a couple of hours. Foster Manor, a student dorm located in the Triangle area where many of the athletes stayed, was evacuated to allow the area to be searched by bomb-sniffing dogs. No bomb was found.

http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/220527.html

[Oorang]

Growing concern in Israel over ‘dirty bomb’ attack
12.02.07

Israel has tightened security at its airports, seaports and border crossings—increasing both technological surveillance as well as information gathering efforts —in order to thwart attempts at smuggling radioactive materials into the country. These materials could potentially be used in the production of a “dirty bomb” that could be detonated within Israel.

A “dirty bomb”, which is essentially a low grade nuclear weapon, is far less lethal than an atomic bomb, but can still lead to massive casualties and injuries should it be employed. It basically consists of an ordinary explosive “laced” with radioactive materials. When detonated, these nuclear materials then emit dangerous levels of radiation, which can quickly spread across a rather large area.

As previously noted, Israel is growing increasingly vigilant of a possible ‘dirty bomb’ attack. Supervision at seaports is at an all time high, and new detectors have been put in place to identify nuclear materials hidden in containers and freight cargo. Moreover, heightened security has been instituted at sensitive sites, such at the nuclear waste site in southern Israel, in order to prevent theft and smuggling of radioactive materials.

The United States instituted similar heightened security measures at its borders crossings and sea ports several months ago, following repeated security alerts. Radiation detection devices were placed along major access points into Manhattan, including bridges and tunnels. Security measures were tightened after it was discovered that they were especially prone to attack. Cargo is often left unsupervised at US harbors, and incoming shipments are seldom screened for radioactive materials.

A senior Israeli security official stated that, “There is growing concern regarding ‘dirty bombs’ among Israeli anti-terrorism units. They work at thwarting such potential attacks on a daily basis.”

Excerpted

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3477905,00.html

Czech high-speed train derails in Prague, nobody injured
2007-12-01

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - A high-speed train derailed Saturday in the Czech capital, officials said. No one was injured, but sabotage was suspected. The Pendolino train from Prague to the eastern city of Ostrava derailed shortly before noon (1100GMT) on the outskirts of Prague, Czech Railways spokesman Ondrej Kubala said. None of the 150 passengers were injured, Kubala said. He said authorities had discovered a manmade cut in the track, suggesting the rail could have been damaged intentionally.

But Jan Kucera a deputy head of Czech Rail Inspection, a government body that investigates accidents, said after visiting the scene that it was too soon to say what caused the derailment. Kucera said the train was traveling at 100 kph (60 mph) when the accident happened. The entire train went off the tracks, he said. The train travels at speeds up to 160 kph (100 mph).

http://www.pr-inside.com/czech-high-speed-train-derails-in-prague-r327246.htm

[Domestic Church]

Thank you!

[Oorang]

Experts see rise in Western-looking recruits training in terrorist camps
Sunday, December 2nd 2007

WASHINGTON - The latest crop of Al Qaeda recruits is salted with white, Anglo-featured converts from Europe who look more like TV's Jack Bauer than Osama Bin Laden. U.S. officials are worried about fair-skinned Al Qaeda killers with light-colored eyes, who most Americans would never suspect as Muslim jihadis ready to die in martyrdom missions like Sept. 11.

"It is a very big concern," a top counterterror official told the Daily News of the possibility that real-life terrorists resemble Kiefer Sutherland's character on "24." The Europeans have been spotted in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, where a resurgent Al Qaeda runs small training camps.

"Al Qaeda is attempting to recruit 'Western' individuals to better blend into European and American societies," a senior military officer who monitors secret reports on the region said. "It's a continuing concern for the intelligence community." The danger is that they may blend in back home - or take advantage of the visa-waiver program the U.S. shares with Eurpean allies that eliminates a key layer of scrutiny for travelers. The travel loophole allows 15 million people to enter the U.S. from 18 European countries without visas, including Britain, France, Germany and Norway.

Intelligence on white jihadis cropped up long before Bin Laden warned Europe last week to leave Afghanistan in a new tape. Top CIA official John Kringen told lawmakers earlier this year that he was "very concerned" about Al Qaeda using Europe as "a launching point for bringing terrorists into the United States." One counterterror official said the Department of Homeland Security isn't moving aggressively to counter those who don't fit the typical Al Qaeda ethnic profile. Most of its agents are from Arab countries, Asia or North Africa.

But DHS spokeswoman Laura Keehner said terrorists "come in all shapes, sizes and colors," and screening procedures "do not take appearances into account." Peculiar behavior, rather than appearance, is increasingly relied on to tell the difference between a safe traveler and a terrorist, Keehner said.

The number of white Europeans who have converted to Islam and been trained by Al Qaeda in Pakistan is believed small, but their value is incalculable. Besides ease of travel, they offer a window into Western culture.

Bin Laden has no one left in his top five tiers of leadership with experience in the West, such as captured 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who attended a North Carolina college. His only adviser on America is California-raised propagandist Adam Gadahn, the likely author of Bin Laden's recent speeches.

The first public inkling of the new threat came last year when a Newsweek reporter in Afghanistan met a Taliban leader who was guarded by a European with light-colored eyes, referred to as one of their "English brothers." Military officials in Afghanistan told The News last summer they've never captured or killed any Europeans near the border. But Al Qaeda has suggested that European jihadis are plentiful.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2007/12/02/2007-12-02_experts_see_rise_in_westernlooking_recru.html

[Cindy]

Thank you Donna.

[Oorang]

Hamas threatens to strike inside Israel
December 02, 2007

The military wing of Hamas pledged on Saturday to strike in the depth of Israel in response to the killing of five of its militants in pre-dawn air strikes in southern Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli army's happiness after killing the resistance men would not last long and the time of account is imminent," Abu Obaida, the spokesman of the Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades said at the funeral of the fighters in Khan Younis city. "The enemy must be ready for black funerals. Al-Qassam Brigades will turn everything on the head of the Zionists, destroy all their expectations and attack them unexpectedly," warned the spokesman.

Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have the capability to recruit 100 fighters at any time to succeed anyone killed by the Israeli troops, Abu Obaida said.

Excerpted

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6313196.html

[Cindy]

Phoenix and Oakland.
Thanks Oorang.

I hope the person with the anxiety attack is not allowed to fly on any airlines.
Now, I wonder what the name of this person is.

#

http://news.google.com/news?tab=wn&hl=en&ned=us&q=Flight+1028&btnG=Search+News

Flight 1028

[Cindy]

Greetings China.

[Cindy]

and the pin was still in the grenade described as a pineapple grenade.

Thank you Oorang.

#

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&um=1&tab=wn&scoring=n&q=Westroads+Mall&btnG=Search+News

[Cindy]

We've been looking at this for years on TM -- no secret reports here.

ARTICLE SNIPPET:

""Al Qaeda is attempting to recruit 'Western' individuals to better blend into European and American societies," a senior military officer who monitors secret reports on the region said."

[Oorang]

Yep, but it’s good to see it in the MSM, finally.

[Cindy]

BIG DITTO.

[Godzilla]

placemark

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=somalia

#

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019004.php
(AP)

December 2, 2007
“Somalia PM seeks dialogue with jihadists”

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48291

“Bush Urges Congress to Approve Funds for Troops in Combat”

By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2007

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pakistan

http://www.longwarjournal.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?tag=Pakistan&blog_id=7

#

blog:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/12/pakistani_army_advan.php

“Pakistani army advances in Swat”
By BILL ROGGIODecember 2, 2007 11:58 AM

[Cindy]

scoot over cartoon jihad:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cartoonjihad
http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html

move along teddy bear riots:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=teddybear
http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?topic=1230.0

it’s time to celebrate a potential (politically correct) crisis
resolved before it started:

blog:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=28134_Mohammed_the_Mole_Goes_Down_the_Memory_Hole&only

“Mohammed the Mole Goes Down the Memory Hole”
Sun, Dec 2, 2007 at 2:36:13 pm PST

SNIPPET: “Wary of offending the Religion of Peace, British author Kes Gray has renamed a character in one of his children’s books.”

#

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Wary_of_Mohammed_teddy_row_UK_author_changes_characters/articleshow/2589772.cms

“Wary of Mohammed teddy row, UK author changes characters”
2 Dec 2007, 1814 hrs IST,Rashmee Roshan Lall ,TNN

LONDON:

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Author Kes Gray said he changed the mole’s name after reading about the fate of British school teacher Gillian Gibbons who is in prison in Sudan for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Gray told The Sunday Times , London that he “had no idea at all of the sensitivities of the name Mohammed until seeing this case in Sudan” and he added that the Hindu and Muslim names for his animals characters had merely been a way to “embrace other cultures...I had no idea it would backfire like this. I was in Egypt this year and everyone was called Mohammed. I just thought it was a popular name”.

Gray’s book, an illustrated volume called Who’s Poorly Too , has sold 40,000 copies in Britain and abroad over the last eight years it has been in print. But the author says he decided to postpone a re-print and rename the mole to guard against the possibility of trouble from angry Muslims.”